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How to Use Microsoft SharePoint Online: Formatting, Metadata, Alerts, and More

ByTechieGeek

Work with Microsoft SharePoint Online (SPO)

Microsoft SharePoint Online (SPO) helps organizations store, organize, and share information securely. You can use SharePoint to build sites, manage documents, and connect people to content across Microsoft 365.

If you use Microsoft Teams, your channel files already live in SharePoint. By learning SharePoint, you unlock more control over how information is stored, displayed, and shared.

This article covers:

  • View list formatting
  • Field (column) formatting
  • Standard web parts
  • Organizing documents
  • Using tags and managed metadata
  • SharePoint alerts
  • Creating lists from Excel
  • Calculated fields

Use a test site (team site or communication site) as your sandbox. Both have the same core structure.

Use view list formatting

SharePoint lists and libraries display content through “views.” Views control which items you see and how they’re presented.

You can use filters, sorting, grouping, and formatting to help users find and understand data without scrolling through hundreds of rows.

What is view formatting?

View formatting lets you change how an entire list or library view looks, without changing the underlying data.

Key points:

  • It uses JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) to describe layout and styling.
  • It affects only the selected view, not the data itself.
  • Everyone who uses that view sees the formatting you apply.

You can highlight rows based on conditions, change the layout from a table to cards, and apply custom styling to entire rows or a grid layout.

Start using view formatting

To format a view:

  1. Open the list or library.
  2. At the top right of the view, select the View options dropdown (often named “All items” or similar).
  3. Select Format current view.

In the panel, Design mode lets you apply basic conditional formatting without writing JSON. Advanced mode lets you paste or edit JSON if you want fine control.

Common use cases:

  • Conditional row formatting — Change row color when a status is “Overdue” or “High priority.”
  • Custom row layout — Use rowFormatter to show fields in a card-like layout instead of a simple row.
  • Card view in grid layouts — Use formatter to show items as cards in a grid.

You can copy the JSON from one view and reuse it in other views to keep a consistent look.

Use field (column) list formatting

Field (column) formatting focuses on a single column instead of the whole view. You use JSON to control how that column looks based on its value.

Key points:

  • It does not change the stored data.
  • It applies to that column for all users who see the list.
  • It is useful when only one field needs special visuals or behavior.

Start using field formatting

To format a column:

  1. Open the list or library.
  2. Go to the column header you want to format.
  3. Select the column menu (down arrow or three dots).
  4. Select Column settings.
  5. Select Format this column.

In the panel, use Design mode for simple conditional formatting, or Advanced mode to paste or edit JSON directly.

Things you can do with column formatting

  • Conditional formatting — Change text color, background, or show icons based on values. For example, show a red icon when a date is overdue.
  • Date range formatting — Highlight dates that are past due or within a certain range.
  • Action buttons — Turn column values into clickable buttons or links, such as “Open details” or “Launch URL.”
  • Simple data visualizations — Show progress bars based on percentages, or use color scales for numeric values.
  • Buttons to launch Power Automate — Create a “Submit for approval” button that starts a flow when clicked.
  • Formatting multi-value fields — Style each value in a Person, Lookup, or Choice column individually.
  • Custom hover cards — Show a callout when users hover over a value, including extra detail from other fields.
  • Custom structures — Combine text, icons, and actions into a single formatted cell.

Once you have JSON that works, keep it as a reusable pattern for other lists and columns.

Use standard web parts on pages

Web parts are building blocks you add to SharePoint pages. They let you show content and functionality without code.

Common web parts include Text, Images, Documents and libraries, Lists, Links and buttons, News and highlighted content, and Embedded video. Developers can also build custom web parts, but most scenarios are covered by the standard ones.

Add a web part to a page

  1. Open the page you want to edit.
  2. Select Edit at the top right.
  3. Inside a section, select the + button where you want to place the web part.
  4. In the web part picker, choose the web part you need (for example, Document library, List, Hero, or Quick links).
  5. Configure the web part properties in the pane that appears.
  6. Select Republish or Publish to save the page.

Use web parts to build home pages and dashboards, highlight key documents or news, and surface filtered lists and libraries with your view formatting applied.

Keep documents organized

SharePoint is more than a file share. It offers versioning, metadata, permissions, and search — but you need a good structure to take advantage of these features.

Use metadata, not only folders

Folders are familiar, but deep folder trees get hard to manage and search. Instead, use columns (metadata) in document libraries.

  1. In your library, select Settings > Library settings or Add column from the header.
  2. Create columns such as Department, Document type, Project, Region, or Status.
  3. Require or encourage users to set these values when uploading or editing documents.

With metadata in place, you can filter and sort by value, use views to show only relevant documents, and avoid extremely deep folder hierarchies.

Connect document libraries to Teams

Each standard Teams channel uses a folder in the Shared Documents library of the underlying SharePoint site. You can use that library directly in SharePoint to add views, metadata, and formatting — extending the Teams document experience without leaving SharePoint.

Sync to your computer with OneDrive

To sync a library to your computer:

  1. In the SharePoint library, select Sync.
  2. Approve the prompt to open OneDrive.
  3. The library or folder appears in File Explorer.

You can also select Add shortcut to OneDrive so the library shows under My files in your OneDrive (note: this behaves differently from a full sync).

Use tags for files (managed metadata)

Tags make files easier to find and filter, especially across sites and libraries. In SharePoint, the common way to implement tagging is with managed metadata.

Key concepts:

  • Term Store — Central location to manage enterprise terms.
  • Term sets — Groups of related terms (for example, Products, Regions, Departments).
  • Terms — Individual tags users apply to content.

Configure managed metadata

At a high level:

  1. An administrator defines term sets and terms in the Term Store.
  2. In your library, create a Managed Metadata column.
  3. Connect that column to a term set so users can pick from approved terms.

To create a managed metadata column:

  1. Go to the library.
  2. Select Settings > Library settings.
  3. Under Columns, select Create column.
  4. Enter a name (for example, “Category” or “Product”).
  5. Choose Managed Metadata as the column type.
  6. Pick the term set you want to use.
  7. Save the column.

Users can now assign one or more terms to each file, giving you consistent tagging across sites, better filters in views, and more accurate search results.

Use SharePoint alerts

Alerts let you and your team know when something changes in a list or library — without building a flow.

You can trigger alerts when items are added, modified, or deleted, and control how often they are sent (immediately, daily, or weekly).

Set up an alert

  1. Open the list or library.
  2. On the command bar, select Alert me (you might find it under the … menu).
  3. Choose Set alert on this library or Set alert on this list.
  4. In the form, select who should receive the alert, what changes trigger it, any conditions to filter by, and how often to send it.
  5. Select OK or Save.

Use alerts when you move Excel-based processes into SharePoint, need owners to know when records are added or updated, or want a simple notification without building a Power Automate flow.

Create lists from Excel sheets

Many teams start with Excel and later move to SharePoint to improve sharing, permissions, and automation. SharePoint can create lists directly from Excel tables.

Create a list from Excel

  1. Go to the SharePoint site where you want the list.
  2. Open Site contents or Lists.
  3. Select New > List.
  4. Choose From Excel.
  5. Upload your Excel file, or select one already in your site.
  6. In the wizard, pick the table to use and confirm or edit column names and types.
  7. Name your new list and set optional settings (description, show on navigation).
  8. Select Create.

Important notes:

  • Your Excel data must be in a defined table (use “Format as Table” in Excel before uploading).
  • SharePoint tries to match Excel column types to SharePoint column types automatically.
  • Some formats, especially dates, may need manual adjustment after import.

Once created, you can add view and column formatting, use alerts and Power Automate flows, and apply permissions and metadata like any SharePoint list.

Use calculated fields

Standard columns cover most needs. For more advanced behavior, use calculated columns.

A calculated column uses a formula similar to Excel, calculates its value from other columns in the same item, and updates automatically when source columns change.

Example: Calculate an expiration date

Suppose you have a Start Date column and want an Expiration Date 30 days later.

  1. Go to List settings or Library settings.
  2. Under Columns, select Create column.
  3. Enter the column name, for example, Expiration Date.
  4. Choose Calculated (calculation based on other columns) as the type.
  5. In the formula box, enter: =[Start Date] + 30
  6. Choose Date and Time as the result type.
  7. Save the column.

Tips:

  • If a column name has spaces, wrap it in brackets: [Due Date].
  • Calculated columns can only reference values from the same row.
  • Some Excel functions (such as TODAY and ME) behave differently or may not be available in calculated columns.

Use calculated columns for deadlines and expiration dates, status flags based on numeric values, and combining text from multiple fields into one display field.

Summary

SharePoint Online lets you:

  • Improve how data looks with view and column formatting
  • Build better portals using standard web parts
  • Organize documents with metadata, not just folders
  • Tag content with managed metadata for better search and filtering
  • Stay informed with alerts on changes
  • Move Excel solutions into SharePoint lists quickly
  • Add calculations with calculated columns

By combining these features, you can turn raw lists and libraries into clean, usable business apps and portals your teams actually want to use.

 

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